Introducing RBC Payback with Points at Point of Sale

This post is sponsored by RBC. All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words.

Like many Canadians, I belong to a lot of loyalty programs and have collected a ton of rewards points over the years. One knock against many of these programs is that it can take months, or even years, to save up enough points to redeem for something you really want.

While there are a multitude of reasons why consumers might be holding onto their points – saving for a big trip, hoarding for a special purchase etc. – a big factor might be that they just don’t know what to do with them.

What we need is a rewards program that can help us redeem our points as quickly and easily as we are able to collect them.

To me, that starts with everyday purchases at the point of sale. I want the ability to redeem my points instantly for things I buy on a regular basis. Mostly so I don’t have to scramble for pocket change when grabbing my morning coffee, but it would also be nice for my rewards program to cover the cost of my weekend groceries or to pick up a restaurant tab from time-to-time.

RBC Payback with Points at Point of Sale

That’s why I was interested to learn about a new RBC feature that will allows clients with an RBC Rewards credit card to do exactly that.

With Payback with Points at Point of Sale, RBC leverages mobile payment technology to allow clients to pay for all or a portion of a point-of-sale purchase with their RBC Rewards points.

Payback with Points at Point of Sale is integrated into Samsung Pay for a seamless payment and redemption experience, and is also available in the RBC Wallet on all other Android and iOS devices. RBC is the first bank in Canada to offer this unique payment capability through a mobile wallet.

Lucky timing for me, I recently signed up for the RBC Visa Infinite Avion card and with 15,000+ RBC Rewards points in my account I’m excited to take this new technology for a test-drive.

How does it work?

When using Samsung Pay, after swiping up for Simple Pay, a client will see the option to pay with their RBC Rewards points under their RBC Rewards credit card. Just set the dollar and point value you would like to redeem for your upcoming transactions.

For eligible clients with non-Samsung Android devices, the option to Payback with Points at Point of Sale will be available within the RBC Wallet immediately after the transaction has been made. Clients can then select how many points they wish to apply to their purchase.

For clients like me using Apple Pay, a push notification (if enabled) will be sent to your iPhone once the transaction has been completed. The notification will advise you that Payback with Points at Point of Sale is available for the transaction. Simply log into the RBC Wallet app and select how many points you wish to apply to your purchase.

Clients can also set up auto-redeem within the RBC Wallet to ensure their points are automatically redeemed with every Apple Pay transaction. Regardless of device (Samsung, Android, iOS) the client will be charged the full purchase amount and will receive a statement credit for the dollar value of points redeemed within 2-3 business days.

Final thoughts

How many of us have tried to squirrel away enough points for a dream vacation, only to get frustrated and give up, cashing in our points for a toaster or blender just to use them up? That’s if we don’t forget about the points altogether.

But the rewards landscape is changing and customers are demanding better technology, instant access, and more freedom and choice when it comes to redeeming their rewards.

RBC is at the forefront with this new feature that makes it easy for clients to earn points and use them like cash for more than just travel.

That’s a win for rewards fans like me who can’t always use points for a flight or hotel but who still want to make the most of this valuable currency.